Valentine's Day
by BMShipper
Summary: Jackson showed up at Mark's doorstep to cook for him - heavy spoilers for Episode 8x14 and it would defintiely be helpful if you have seen the episode, so you know what happened, because this is the aftermath...


**A/N: So… another one of my stories… I just can't help it… I love Mark and Jackson SO so much and their scenes always make me happy… I didn't get much feedback to most of my stories here, though, even though a lot of people seem to read them. I don't wanna beg and I won't, but it would still be nice, if you're reading this story, to let me know if you like it or not an if not, why… because I can only get better when I know what I'm doing wrong…**

**I'm no native English Speaker, and even though I had a beta (Thanks, Amy), there could still be some errors, so if you find them, they are yours xD And now have fun reading my story!**

**Valentine's Day**

„You didn't have to do that, you know?" Jackson said, leaning against the counter in the kitchen while Mark closed the door after Lexie had left.

"What do you mean?" Mark asked, turning back to him and crossing the room until he stood in front of him.

Jackson shrugged. "Sending Lexie home. You didn't have to do that for me."

Mark tilted his head. "You think I did it for you?"

"I… I don't know," Jackson stammered. "Why else would you do something this stupid? She obviously wanted to talk to you. With hearts in her eyes."

"So?" Mark commented.

Jackson felt confusion building inside of him. "But wasn't that what you always wanted? Getting back together with Lexie?" He looked at Mark directly and felt almost mesmerized by his beautiful grey-blue eyes, which happened a lot lately, even though Jackson didn't know exactly why. He liked Mark. A lot. Within a few weeks Mark had become one of his best friends, if not the best of all. That was the reason for him turning to Mark for help with studying and not to April like he normally would have done.

"I don't know. Maybe," Mark replied, looking almost as confused as Jackson still felt.

"I'm not stupid, Mark. I always knew I was just a rebound for her and the two of you would get back together eventually. So maybe you should have sent me home instead of her," Jackson sighed, lifting himself on the counter and grabbing the glass of red wine standing next to him.

"What if I don't want to get back together with her anymore and this was my way of avoiding this talk? What if I'm over her?" Mark asked, looking Jackson deeply in his eyes.

"You mean because of Julia?" Jackson asked back. He had to admit, he hadn't thought about Mark's actual girlfriend for a second the whole evening.

First it had been only him and Mark having fun while he was cooking dinner for them, and even though he had thought his idea to show up at Mark's doorstep on _Valentine's Day_ had been totally stupid, it had turned out awesome. They had had so much fun together, joking around, drinking wine, even playing with Sofia – and god, Jackson was already head over heels in love with Mark's daughter – but then Lexie had appeared and it was the three of them for at least two hours. He would have gone home if Mark had asked him to, but instead he did the opposite: he wanted him to stay, and Jackson stayed, even though the whole situation was kind of awkward and he barely said a word the whole time. The main reason was most likely because both of them, he and Mark, had been together with Lexie.

Also, it was pretty hard to see her almost drooling over him, and he wanted to roll his eyes a couple of times at her behaviour, but he didn't. Because he could totally understand her. Mark was an awesome guy, handsome, sexy, talented, nice, friendly, always there for his friends… he was just the perfect boyfriend and Jackson was sure it would have been hard for anyone to get over him. Not that he knew himself of course.

"No!" Mark pulled Jackson out of his thoughts with a single word, causing Jackson to look at him again.

"No?" he asked confused.

"No, I don't think Julia has anything to do with me being over Lexie. It's just that I don't love her anymore. Or not the way I used to love her and tonight just proofed it once again," he explained, kneading his hands. He seemed almost nervous and Jackson didn't know why, since he hadn't seen him like that _ever_. Normally, Mark was totally confident and always knew what to say in every situation, but right now he looked like he was lost for words.

Jackson slid down the counter so he was at eye level with Mark. "Do you love Julia?" he asked quietly, feeling twitchy all of a sudden. This was none of his business and still he felt some kind of anxiety for the answer. His heart was racing and his hand was clasping the stem of his wine glass.

"No, I don't," Mark replied, taking a step towards Jackson. "I wasn't sure until a few days ago."

"What happened?" Jackson wanted to know, feeling his breath catching in his throat.

"Julia told me she loves me and I couldn't say it back," Mark said, rubbing his neck. "Callie and Arizona were there when it happened to pick up Sofia, and they totally went crazy when I didn't reply with 'I love you, too' immediately. They didn't stop bothering me with this thing the whole day, even told me, that it's because of Lexie that I couldn't say it back, because some part of me was still hoping to get back together with her," he went on talking.

"But?" Jackson just knew that wasn't the whole story and there was something more, otherwise Mark wouldn't have brought it up in the first place.

"When I lay in bed that night and couldn't sleep I was starting to think, and I realized that I couldn't tell her that I love her, because I don't. I like her. A lot. She's perfect." Mark sighed, letting out an almost desperate sound. "Everybody likes her, and Arizona was already talking about how cute our babies would be." Mark rolled his eyes. "It's not that I don't care for her, I do, and being with her makes me happy, it's just…" He ran one of his fingers through his blond locks. "It's just not the real thing, you know?"

Jackson reached out with his arm and put his hand on one of Mark's shoulders. "I know," he replied understandingly, gently rubbing his upper arm when he slid down a bit. He just wanted to show Mark that he was there for him no matter what.

"Really, do you?" Mark asked back, putting one of his hands over Jackson's arm, which made Jackson want to pull his hand back as a reflex, but he didn't. Instead, he took another step towards Mark, not really knowing what he was doing anymore.

"I was with people and it didn't feel right, either, so I know what you're talking about," he assured Mark.

All of a sudden he felt Mark's hand grabbing his wrist, with which he was still holding his glass of wine. He let Mark pull the glass out of his fingers and place it on the counter before he grabbed his hand again. His whole body was shaking and he could literally feel his heart in his throat. Mark's fingertips were stroking the back of his hand and Jackson just looked down, swallowing hard. What was going on? Something was definitely happening between them, but he was unable to form a clear thought. Did he want this? Why did he let this happen?

"There is actually someone everything feels right with," he heard Mark say, feeling two of Mark's fingers under his chin, lifting it up, so that he was looking at Mark again.

"Yeah?" he asked in a croaky voice, closing his eyes for a couple of seconds. When he opened them again, Mark's face was very close to his and he could already feel Mark's warm breath against his skin. Goosebumps were building over his whole body and he just wanted Mark to kiss him, needed Mark to close the distance between them and do it. His nose touched Mark's and he tilted his head to give Mark better access and then he could feel Mark's soft, warm lips brushing his like a breeze.

Unluckily he couldn't enjoy it for very long, because almost the same second a cry echoed through the living room, causing them both to literally jump apart, almost as if they had done something wrong, something forbidden.

It took Jackson a moment to realize that Sofia was the one he was hearing and since Mark looked as confused as he felt, he decided to take the initiative. Before Mark could react, he passed him and crossed the room to Sofia's crib within seconds. The little girl was sitting on the mattress, looking up at him with watery eyes. Once she recognized him, she stretched her small arms and made Jackson smile immediately. He lifted her up and held her close to his chest, stroking her back.

"It's okay, Sofia. Everything's alright, I'm here," he whispered into her ear, rocking her in his arms. "Did you have a bad dream?" he asked, even though he knew she couldn't and wouldn't answer, looking at her and gently wiping away the last tracks of her tears. "I'm here, and your daddy is here too, see?" he said, turning around, only to find Mark standing right in front of him, a mere few inches away. He closed the distance between them, looking up at Mark. "You wanna have her?"

Mark shook his head. "No, I'm okay," he replied, putting his hand over Jackson's on Sofia's back, rubbing it with him. "You're really good with Sofia, and she adores you."

Jackson felt his cheeks getting hot. "She does?" He hated to blush, but he couldn't help it. Because it touched him deep inside of his heart that Mark obviously meant every word he said.

"Yeah. You calmed her down within seconds, and if she didn't like you, she would be already crying again, but she doesn't even want to be with me right now. She's happy where she is," he replied with a big smile, and once again Jackson noticed how beautiful his eyes were, especially when he was smiling. "And I can totally understand that," he added, looking at Jackson and Jackson felt like Mark was looking directly into his soul. As if he knew exactly what Jackson thought or felt right at that moment.

"Do you?" Jackson dug deeper, not able to wipe the smile off his face.

"Yes, I do. So what about we bring Sofia to bed again and I'll show you?" Mark offered, gently caressing Sofia's head. Sofia looked at his dad curiously.

"But maybe she doesn't want you to," Jackson grinned. "I mean, she literally interrupted our first kiss."

"You thought I was kissing you?" Mark asked teasingly, but looking pretty serious all of sudden.

Jackson stared at him in shock, tilting his head. "You… didn't you? I mean, I thought… I already felt your lips and I…" Jackson stuttered.

Mark shook his head grinning, putting one of his hands on Jackson's back and moving it up and down comfortingly. "Calm down, Jackson. I was joking," he hushed Jackson, leaning forward until his face was almost touching Jackson's.

Jackson let out a relieved sigh. "You know, if I didn't have a baby in my arms, _your_ baby, I would kill you right now. The thought is definitely tempting," he grinned.

Mark looked at him apologetically. "I'm terribly sorry. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"You do that," Jackson replied, turning his attention back to Sofia, since her small hands were touching his chin like she wanted to explore his face. "What's the matter, young lady? Aren't you tired?"

Like on command Sofia suddenly started to rub her eyes and let out a yawn.

"I guess that was a yes." Jackson smiled and turned to Mark again. "Say good-night to Daddy." He handed her to Mark who cuddled her lovingly, pressing a kiss on her forehead before handing her back to Jackson who took a few steps towards her crib and lay her down. She looked up at Jackson smiling at him and Jackson felt like he was falling in love with her all over again, and he let out a sigh. This baby completely won him over, and even if he had wanted to – which he didn't – he just couldn't resist her charm.

All of a sudden he felt a hand on his shoulder and when he looked around Mark was standing next to him. For a moment he hesitated and didn't really know how to react, but then he threw away all his doubts and slung an arm around Mark's waist, leaning his head onto his shoulder. He knew he was taking a risk with getting _this_ close to Mark, one he maybe shouldn't take, but he needed to know what there was between them. And maybe it was worth the risk after all. Maybe this would turn out to be the _real__thing_ Mark was talking about. To him it definitely felt real. And good. And somehow right, even though he had never been attracted to men before. That should have been scaring the shit out of him, but instead it just felt good and he couldn't help it. He trusted Mark and he wanted it. Maybe more than he ever wanted anything else.

"She's asleep," he heard Mark whisper to his ear and when he looked down again he noticed that Mark was right. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he completely forgot about Sofia for… he didn't even know how long. Seconds? Minutes? More?

"Come on," Mark went on and when he grabbed both of Jackson's hands and pulled him to the couch he didn't hesitate for a moment. He fell on the couch next to Mark, sliding closer to him once Mark put his arm around him again. When he felt Mark touching one of his cheeks he tilted his head and looked up at him, feeling his heartbeat quicken once more.

"What… what is this between us?" he asked, even though he was afraid he might not like the answer, but he was willing to take this risk.

"I don't know, but what I know is that I really enjoy being with you," Mark replied in a gentle voice. "With you, everything is just so easy and I feel free. I feel like myself, like I can be who I really am without having to play a role. And you take me the way I am."

"Of course I do," Jackson answered, lifting a hand and touching Mark's cheek, pulling him a little closer. "You're awesome and I really… _really_ like you. And I wanna find out what this is between us."

"Me too," Mark whispered, rubbing his nose against Jackson's. "Let's just take it slow and find out where it leads us, okay?"

Jackson smiled happily. "Sounds like a plan."

"A good one?" Mark asked, also smiling.

"A very good one," Jackson assured him, placing a hand at the back of Mark's neck and sliding even closer to him, so he was almost sitting in his lap. "So what are you waiting for? Kiss me already!"

Mark didn't need to be asked twice and finally, _finally_Jackson felt his lips on his own, immediately responding to the kiss and wrapping both of his arms around Mark's neck, while Mark was looping his around Jackson's waist. When Mark's tongue touched his lips, Jackson opened his mouth to let him in, deepening the kiss and pressing himself into Mark's embrace until he didn't even know where his body ended and Mark's started anymore. He had never felt that complete in his entire life and he didn't want to let go of Mark ever again.

When they parted to breathe, Jackson looked Mark deeply into his eyes. "Happy Valentine's Day," he whispered, causing Mark to smile at him.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Jackson," he replied, closing the distance between them and kissing Jackson again, a lot more passionate than the first time.

Jackson had never really given a shit about Valentine's day at all, but he was sure that would change from that moment on and that he wouldn't ever forget that day.


End file.
